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View from Kassel's Hercules monument Did you know that it costs a Euro to use the WC/toilette/bathroom in a train station? Well, anyway… |
My last couple of days in Germany was quite an adventure due
to unforeseen circumstances. What should have been an uneventful train ride
from Kassel to Bremen turned out to be otherwise. Taking the taxi from my
friend Bernadette’s house, it was easy enough to find the correct platform from
the eingang (entrance), the correct train number, and the correct seat (platz) reservation
on the Deutch Bahn ICE train (an express train) because the bahnhof (train
station) in Kassel was small enough. Hauptbahnhofs or Grand Central Stations
were more confusing for me because of numerous platforms and floors. Next,
the train was delayed and instead of arriving at the original platform in front
of me, it arrived at the one behind me. Fortunately I had been talking to a
woman minutes before, who happened to work for Deutsch Bahn, who told me about
the change. When we got going, sometime in the middle of the trip,
there was an announcement that we would be getting off at Hannover Hauptbahnhof
to transfer to a regional train which has more stops. Initially, we were
informed that it would be the regional train on track 11, but as we were about
to get off, another announcement in German said we would be taking the train
from track 12 instead. Fortunately, some Germans nearby translated to
announcement for me, and I told one of them that I would be following her and
her kids. However, they stopped by a snack shop to buy some food. Being in
unfamiliar situations and the thought of being lost especially in a foreign
country gives me high anxiety. I told my friend Emy about that before I left
for Germany and that my life was in her hands when I got there.
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| Beer tasting near Kassel |
I then proceeded to track 12, looked at the posted schedule,
and it turned out that the train that was waiting at the track was the one I
was supposed to take. I entered it and asked a gentleman if I was on the right
train and he said that I was. However, I didn’t have a seat reservation on this
one even though I had a reservation on the original train. The same gentleman
told me that reserved seats were indicated by an LED sign just above the seat.
Fortunately, the immediate area I was in had a vacant one.
When we arrived in Bremen Hauptbahnhof, I looked for the
ausgang (exit) towards the front of the building and started looking for the
taxi stand. I found a taxi easily and told the driver I wanted to go to the
Holiday Inn Express near Bremen Flughafen (airport). He said “no problem”. A
few short miles later, I arrived at my destination for the day. I checked in
and explored the area so I could easily find my way to the airport the next
day. It was only about a block away by U.S. standards. I found a Chinese food
restaurant, ate a light dinner, then found myself buying an apple strudel in
McDonalds which I took back to the hotel and ate it in my room with yet another
mug of beer which the bartender downstairs allowed me to take.
And thus ended the first day.
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